A co-simulation method for system-level simulation of fluid–structure couplings in hydraulic percussion units

This paper addresses a co-simulation method for fluid power driven machinery equipment, i.e. oil hydraulic machinery. In these types of machinery, the fluid–structure interaction affects the end-product performance to a large extent, hence an efficient co-simulation method is of high importance. The proposed method is based on a 1D system model representing the fluid components of the hydraulic machinery, within which structural 3D Finite Element (FE) models can be incorporated for detailed simulation of specific sub-models or complete structural assemblies. This means that the fluid system simulation will get a more accurate structural response, and that the structural simulation will get more correct fluid loads at every time step, compared to decoupled analysis. Global system parameters such as fluid flow, performance and efficiency can be evaluated from the 1D system model simulation results. From the 3D FE-models, it is possible to evaluate displacements, stresses and strains to be used in stress analysis, fatigue evaluation, acoustic analysis, etc. The method has been implemented using two well-known simulation tools for fluid power system simulations and FE-simulations, respectively, where the interface between the tools is realised by use of the Functional Mock-up Interface standard. A simple but relevant model is used to validate the method.